Thinking of switching to 9mm for conceal carry

This is a discussion on Thinking of switching to 9mm for conceal carry within the Defensive Carry Guns forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; I suggest you keep the S&W SD40 for home defense and buy a compact or sub-compact 9mm for concealed carry....

Thank you for the responses. I was looking at a Sig 239, does it have a manual safety? That is one thing about the SD40 I don't like, it doesn't.

The 239 is a really nice gun, but, it does not have an external safety, and it costs a bundle. I had one, and what I really didn't like about it was that it was on the heavy side for a gun only carrying 8 rounds. I ended up trading it on a Sig 250 and couldn't be happier.
You might like the Ruger SR9c, it has an external safety and mag safety, and it's a great shooter. Bud's has them for $398 shipped. That would be my recommendation. Just for the record, I switched from 40 cal to 9mm as a primary carry.

You're only addressing half the problem IMO. The time (speed) to the first shot is equally if not more important than splits. That is determined by platform, method of carry, holster and practice. The first three are determined by evaluation and selection then combined with practice.

I like my 9's, I have changed to all 9mm except for my revolvers and I will be getting a 380 for summer. I do reload, however, I buy my 9mm 115 FMJ Federal load for $10.50 a box of 50 at Wal-mart. If I want something more powerful I would choose a revolver for that duty. I really am sold on shot placement, so practice and a moving while shooting while keeping shots on target are really important.

These days I am a strong advocate for folks stocking up and socking away some ammunition (for reasons that I'll not get into here) at least with regard to whatever ammo they shoot best defensively.
For sure you'll find it to be lots less expensive to tuck away a bulk quantity of 9mm than .40S&W so that should be a consideraton for an uncertain future.

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Personally I think the ability to put multiple rounds on target faster and accurately iis more important then having a larger caliber and putting less rounds on target. For example I would rather fire 5 rounds ff 9mm and connect with three then 3 rounds of .40 and connect with 1. Personally I am faster back on target with a 9mm which allows me to put more lead down wind faster. I think it is multiplied when talking about a sub compact and somewhat diminished when talking about a compact or full size.
The .40 is a snappy round and I am not a fan of it in subcompact guns like the Glock 27 which only allow a 2 finger grlip. However in a compact gun like the Glock 23 or a full size or any gun that lets me get a full 3 finger grip on the gun the .40 is actually my preferred round. You could put the Glock 27 with a finger extension into that category as well if you like. A 9mm with a quality round like the federal HST or speer gold dots is a formidable amount of fire power. I my self am going to be picking up a gen 4 glock 26 fairly soon I hope.

I started my semi-autos with 9mm and went from larger guns to smaller guns (Ruger P95, Bersa Thunder 9 ultra compact, Taurus PT709). They are versatile carry pieces, easy and fun to shoot, accurate, and affordable. Nothing wrong with any of those features. I also have a Springfield XD40sc. It is one of my most accurate shooters and I have confidence in the 40 round and this particular gun and my abilities with it. I have a 1911 in .45, but I don't carry it much anymore. I have many revolvers and I tend to carry revolvers more than semi-autos. I have 2 snub 38s, a snub .357, a full size .357, and a large cowboy action .44 Magnum. I have developed great accuracy with my snub revolvers and have tremendous confidence in them. It truly comes down to whatever platform, weapon, and round YOU feel confident in and your ability with. I may not carry 9mm as much as I used to, but I shoot my 9mms quite a bit because they are fun and inexpensive to shoot. There's a lot to be said for that. The 9mm round will get the job done as long as you do your part...but that's the case with most rounds.

I made the decision to carry 9mm pistols awhile back. I tried various 1911s and Sigs and Glocks in larger calibers and I always came back to a 9mm. I do not desire to start a caliber war, but the ease of shooting and cost of ammo made my mind up for me, more importantly I can practice more often. Now my favorite revolver caliber is a .44, but that is a story for another time. The 9mm is a size efficient cartridge that will serve you well. It is my favorite auto pistol cartridge for sure.

My permit will be mine on Monday! I have been carrying a .40 S&W SD40 around my home and property to get used to it. I love the gun, very accurate (for me) out to 15yards and for a polymer gun the recoil isn't that bad. However on my last range trip I was trying to shoot multiple rounds in rapid succession and with the trigger pull and reset, it is near impossible to shoot as fast as I would like.

I saw on a TV show that a lot of guys carry 9mm for CC based on new bullet design being better giving the 9mm more punch and the fact that with a 9mm you can put more shots downrange faster.

For me the thought of changing is 2 fold. 1. Ammo is cheaper on the 9mm and I do a lot of practicing. and 2. I want to be able to pop off shots faster.

Now I know that I will likely never use my gun and if I do I doubt I will ever need machine gun like suppressing fire, so should I even bother? A well placed shot with my .40 and 180gr JHP's will likely stop anything I'll ever encounter.

So I am just looking for some lively discussion about the topic.

Thanks!

Thought you were looking for a lively discussion to incude all of the content of your post. Sorry I am one that did not understand what your post was about. Good luck on your future endeveors.